Gardening tip: I also grow tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Most vegetables grow best in well-drained soil.

However, since I live in the Central Valley of California (South San Joaquin –Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern County), and it dryer here, (we just came out of a six-year drought), some of the things we do here might not be quite right for your region.

Like planting in a hole.

Recently I and my family moved into town. I have a raised bed for my garden and I’m only allowed to water twice a week.

Water is a big issue, so I found planting in a hole will keep the soil around my plant’s roots moist. Everything else is mulch as much as possible to help hold in the moisture.

As you can hopefully see from the photos of my garden, my peppers and tomatoes are all planted into holes and staked. Staking I also recommend, since it will keep your plant up out of the dirt, your fruit clean, and viruses like the Mosaic leaf virus at bay.

Since this is a book blog hop, I’ll also post a blurb and excerpt from my last book, Alien Heart.

Blurb: Divorcee and single mom, hardworking Audrey Westberry is the host of a cable TV show called Miz Fixit.
Romance was the last thing on Audrey’s mind when two handsome extraterrestrials join the audience of her show.
Soon Audrey finds out a single word “mated” has different meaning when you are born a galaxy away. After a wonderful night of passion, Audrey finds herself far from home, impregnated and her life turned upside down.
Will she ever be able to leave the alien compound, see her son again, or get home in time to film the fall season of her Miz Fixit show?
But what’s a girl to do with two aliens that smell like candy, and their kisses taste like it, too?

Excerpt:

“Greetings,” said the tall man on her stoop, with a delightfully deep voice and a slight English lilt.

He wore blue jeans and a dark purple long-sleeved shirt. He had one of those legionnaire’s caps with a piece of cloth that covered the back of the head and his ears. A pair of wraparound sunglasses hid his eyes. The only clue to his identity was the hint of lavender in the hollow of his neck and cheeks, which the reflection of the shirt couldn’t account for.

“Keefe?”

He slipped off his glasses as he grinned at her. “Yes, are you ready for our date?”

“Just about.” Letting him in, Audrey took a deep breath, taking his vanilla scent deeply into her lungs. Suddenly, she wanted to see his skin and had two of his buttons undone, before she quite realized what she was doing. “Uh—sorry, your shirt looked too tight. You had all the buttons done up to the top.” She opened the collar a bit. “That’s better isn’t it?” God, she so wanted to kiss his exposed throat.

His touch felt wonderful. Her face heated as she turned away. What’s the matter with me? Trying to hide her confusion, she gestured toward the dining table, the stack of bills and her laptop. “I just have to finish this. Where are we going?”

“It’s still early. We could go to the zoo.”

Oh good, the zoo would be an easy date. “Okay, sounds great. Just give me a few minutes, so I can change and get some comfortable shoes on.”

His eyes lit up at the sight of the produce piled on her table. “Are those vegetables from your garden?”

“Yes, did you know about my garden from my show?”

“You did a spot on how to start a garden, and filmed it right back here.” He walked to her sliding back glass door to peek out. “Your garden is bigger now.”

“Yes, it is.” Audrey smiled, but her gaze lingered on his muscular ass. Her hands itched to caresses—no pinch his butt. “I hate to tell you this, but those segments cost me my neighbors.” Back to work, she told herself, taking a seat. “They hated all the trucks blocking the street, and let me know about it too.”

Determined to distract herself, she started going through her bills.

“What are you doing there?” He walked back then looked over her shoulder.

God, he smells wonderful. I’m not going to be able to concentrate with him so close. “I’m going through my bills, setting them up to be paid through my online bank’s billing system. It saves time, paper, stamps and a tree.”

“Are your checks automatically deposited?”

“Yes, it’s another way to save a tree.” She hit the pay button, waited until it went through then turned off the computer. “Okay, I’m done. I just have to change.”

“Would you mind if I help myself to your produce?” He gestured toward the table.

“Did you take your enzymes?”

“Yes, but I didn’t have enough time to eat breakfast. Paz watched late night movies, and kept us awake all night.” He actually rolled his eyes. “And I slept through the alarm because of it.”

Chuckling, she pictured him in bed with a pillow over his head. Oh shit, naked. She bit her bottom lip at the image. “What kind of TV did they have?”

“There’s cable and satellite TV at our suite, which we don’t have at our domicile.”

“Paz must have been in hog heaven.”

“Uh?” He looked a little blank. “He was happy, but Blade and I weren’t. All I had time for this morning was a shower and a piece of toast before my taxi arrived. The enzymes should still be effective for a little longer.”

The very thought of Keefe naked in a shower had Audrey crossing her legs, tightly. “Well, sure, help yourself. I won’t be long.”

Audrey hurried to her room, shut the door and leaned against it, sighing with relief. I got to control myself, or I’ll be tearing Keefe’s clothes off his body. No-no, now I’m imagining that too.

Click here to enter your link for the grand prize and view this Linky Tools list…

Winners will be posted on both the first (Dianne Venetta) and last

(BloominThyme) websites.

*Prize from Janice Seagraves*

This beautiful butterfly necklace will go to one lucky commenter.

It is similar in design to the one that Keefe gives Audrey in Alien Heart.

The value is no more than five dollars. The prize for those living in the USA or Cannada. If you win and reside outside of this area, a gift card will be substituted and sent via email. The value worth no more than five dollars USA currency.

For the prize: Please leave a comment and answer these two questions. What is your favorite thing about spring, and what is your favorite romance genre?

I love gardening and planting things in pots that bloom and growing tomatoes are two of my favorite things.

So is taking photos of blooms as you can see from the following pictures.

Climbing Jasmine from the arch over my gate

Bush type snapdragon

Aztec Lilly

I live in the country in a almond orchard. The blooms are amazing. Here’s some photos taken early in March.

Bees boxes and some blooms

Almond blooms against the sunset and clouds

Almond blooms against the sunset

A row of almond trees in bloom (and one of my walking areas)

I have two sets of advice for gardening. If you have problems with your back or hands, don’t let it stop you from gardening. You can always plant your garden in pots. Flowers do amazing in pots, so do tomatoes and a lot of other veggies.

The second piece of advice is if you have a heirloom verity tomato you want to save or another one that you favor, there is a easy way to save the seed. Squeeze out some of the seed out on a napkin, smear it out flat and allow it to dry, then store in a zip lock (or similar) bag or a jar. When you’re ready to plant, tear off the seed and plant it into a peat pot or small pot. Water and watch it grow.

My last tomato from my potted garden. Picked in December.

I also mention flowers in one of my books, Matrix Crystal Hunters.

Team Alpha Three’s spaceship is out of power after fighting a wormhole, and parked on the primitive world of Zenevieva. With half the team sick from radiation poisoning, the team commander entrust geologist, Maya Gladstone, to find enough matrix crystals to power up their spacecraft, so they can go home to Earth.
Vach Namaste of the powerful Clan Namaste, a native of the planet, has desire the lovely Maya since she stepped off the spaceship on that astonishing day a year ago. He’s hounded her every step since. As Hymeneal Night approaches, he makes plans to take her as his bride… willing or not.

Garden excerpt:

They walked through another gate which led to an orchard. “What do you think of Vach?”

Maya smiled. “That’s a loaded question.”

“Is it?” The old woman looked at her.

“Yes. He’s persistent, stubborn, smart-mouthed and arrogant.”

“Yet you say all that with a smile on your face,” the old woman said, giving Maya a shrewd look.

“Yeah, well, he can be awfully charming too.” Maya gave a little laugh.

The old woman chuckled. “Yes, my grandson does have a way about him.”

“Yes, he does.” She looked at the older woman. “About the matrix crystals—”

“Let me ask you a question instead.” Grandmother pointed out a field filled with huge, bright red blossoms. “These are treacle flowers. We collect the nectar, then allow it to dry so we can use it as a sweetener. You enjoyed that in your tea today.”

Maya admired the flowers. “I’ve heard of treacle flowers before.”

“Have you heard of the treacle flower’s pollinator?”

She shook her head. “Uh, no, I haven’t.”

“There’s a type of lizard that pollinates the flowers. They lick up the nectar, but they receive spots of pollen right here.” She touched the middle of Maya’s forehead. “If we allow the lizards to pollinate the flowers, they’ll lap up all the nectar and we’ll have none. But if we ring off the field with sulfur crystals, they don’t come near the flowers and we get the nectar.”

Maya looked for the ditch and sulfur crystals, and soon spotted them. “How do you pollinate the flowers then?”

“We don’t. We use the seeds from another field that we allowed to be pollinated.”

The winner will received a amethyst pendant valued at no more than ($5.00) five dollars. Or if the winner lives outside of the US or Canada, they will receive a similar amount in their countries currency as a gift certificate to Amazon. The winner will be notified by email at the end of the blog hop, April 18th. If the winner doesn’t respond in (3) three days, a new winner will be picked. Only contestants that are eighteen (18) can participate.

***To enter the contest, leave a comment on what you love about the spring and gardening with your email addy***

***Void were prohibited by law***

***About the blog hop contest***

Visitors will have 10 days to enter each individual author contests. To win, visitors must hit each and every author on the hop. Grand prize is an ereader of their choice (up to $200 value) with second prize a $25 gift card to the ebook retailer of their choice.

To be eligible for the grand prize, the winner must have left an email (via rafflecopter or the comment section) on an author’s site that can be verified for notification by April 17th.

Everything from books to swag, promotional products and more! The grand prize is an ereader of your choice (up to $200 value). A second prize of $25 gift card ~ winner’s choice which ebook retailer gift card, available to INTL residents (VOID where prohibited by law).

Authors will note US or INTL for their giveaway eligibility. Where US or INTL is not specifically noted, US eligibility will apply. The grand prize is available for US entrants only. Winners will be announced on the landing page, BloominThyme.

What do I do when it’s all over?

By April 19th we will post the grand prize winners on the main page and the landing page. Individual authors will announce and contact the winners of their author-specific giveaways. You will be required to claim your prize according to each giveaway’s terms and conditions.

Questions??

Please feel free to contact me! dianne@diannevenetta.com

“Giveaway ends April 17th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Legal Residents (18 years of age or older) of the US only. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. Winner will be selected by Rafflecotper.com and be notified by email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Please note that Dianne Venetta, host of the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop, is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. I have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you in obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.” VOID where prohibited by law.

Follow Me

Year of the Cat (Paranormal/humor)

Haunted by the loss of his parents, werecat Jared Catterick earns his keep working for the Catclaw Clan. Jared has secrets that he doesn’t mind sharing with a special lady, and he hopes Morgan is that special someone. When his past and present collide it’s worse than he imagined, and he’s forced to fight for his life.

The Arcons build three colony ship to take them off their dying world. Only the chosen can come, the rest take their chances with the lottery. But one family cheats.

Alien Heart (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Arcon) (Sci-Fi Romance)

After a wonderful night of passion, Audrey finds herself far from home, impregnated and her life turned upside down.
Will she ever be able to leave the alien compound, see her son again, or get home in time to film the fall season of her Miz Fixit show?
But what's a girl to do with two aliens that smell like candy, and their kisses taste like it, too?

Matrix Crystal Hunters (Sci-Fi Romance)

Vach Namaste of the powerful Clan Namaste, a native of the planet, has desire the lovely Maya since she stepped off the spaceship on that astonishing day a year ago. He’s hounded her every step since. As Hymeneal Night approaches, he makes plans to take her as his bride… willing or not.

Matrix Crystal Christmas (Sci-Fi Romance)

In Crystal Flower Christmas: Vach and Maya are on a mission to undam the Laonooco River for the drought stricken region. As heartache fractures their marriage, will the gift of a crystal flower mend their relationship or break it beyond repair?
In Crystal Clear Christmas: Plague has struck the village of Zama and the citizens blame the only human left on Zenevieva, Maya. Will Vach make the ultimate sacrifice to save his wife?

Matrix Crystal River (Sci-Fi Romance)

After twenty-five years, the Earthlings were back. River Namaste swears he'll never help the humans find matrix crystals, until he meets, Winona Miracle, Team Alpha Six's geologist. Shy and vulnerable, the black haired, dark eyed beauty is all he wants.
But is she ready to put aside her goals for him?

Matrix Crystal Rebels (Sci-fi Romance)

Earth geologist Steen’s mission is to look and act like a Zeeman so he can locate matrix crystals. But when Steen’s deception fails, the beautiful Rain Namaste coaches him. He doesn’t realize he’s fallen in love with the lovely redhead until someone tries to claim her on Hymeneal Night.
Steen will do anything to get Rain back, but is he willing to take her as a Hymeneal bride for himself?

Windswept Shores (Contemporary Romance/Suspense)

Two strangers wash up on the same windswept shores. Will they survive and can they fall in love?

Windswept Shores Two (Contemporary Romance/Suspense)

Megan and Seth are finally rescued off their little island, but things are far from idyllic. Seth is arrested for murder, and Megan is order to return home to her philandering husband who is somehow still alive. Will they ever get back together again or see the life they envisioned?